Life Beyond Limbo
by Katie Macpherson
Summary: "For that whole year, I had this hole in my gut, like I was missing something. I didn't know what. But you know what it was? It was you." What if things had been different and Dean had said yes to Tessa? One shot [Dean, Tessa OC] *Warning, there is a death*


Life beyond Limbo

Aside from the steam coming from the hood of the impala and "Bad Moon Rising still playing on the radio, the country road was dark and quiet.  
>The car which had been a sweet looking ride once, was now a twisted up hunk of metal, all the windows were cracked, and shattered glass lay all over the interior. In short, the car was totaled.<br>Off to the side, the semi-truck which had crashed into it was sitting there without a scratch on it.  
>Invisible, Tessa approached the impala and peered through the windows. Sam looked relatively unharmed but the other two were another matter completely. He stirred slightly and moaned.<br>Tessa looked in the backseat at Dean. Her heart twisted slightly. Out of all of them, he appeared to have taken the worst beating. The right side of his face was covered and blood, and his heart was barely beating. He wouldn't be getting out of it this time.  
>She straightened up and sighed. Suddenly a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.<br>The driver door of the semi-truck had opened, and the driver, clearly demon possessed got down and walked across the road to the impala.  
>Tessa eyed him with distaste. She hated demons. They were filthy unnatural creatures. They disrupted her job as a reaper, simply trying to ensure the natural order of things. She backed up when he got closer.<br>Sam had started to come around by this time. The demon possessed man reached and yanked the driver door off its hinges. Sam May have been down but he wasn't beaten though.  
>He seized the colt from his belt and raised it, ready to fire at the demon's head.<br>"Back or I'll kill you, I swear to god," he hissed. His voice was shaking with rage and anger. The demon smiled at him.  
>"You won't, you're saving that bullet for someone else," it said. Tessa looked at it with disgust. Sam cocked the colt.<br>"You wanna bet?"  
>The demon smiled at him one last time before it forcibly exited the man's body through his mouth, dropping its human host to the ground.<br>Tessa looked back at Sam, who by this time had lowered the gun and leaned his head back against the seat in relief.  
>She looked at him sadly. He was such a nice kid. He really didn't deserve to lose his father and brother.<br>Can it Tess, you aren't allowed to care for mortals. Maybe you've been around them for too long. You're just here to ensure the natural order of things.  
>Meanwhile, man who had been playing host to the demon had come to. He looked around at the wreckage Keith a look of horror on his face.<br>"Oh my God!"  
>Sam wasn't paying attention, he looked around and locked eyes on his father.<br>"Dad?"  
>"Did I do this?!" The truck driver asked to no one in particular and Tessa rolled her eyes. Sometimes humans really were idiots.<br>She turned her attention back to the impala and to Dean. Sam was trying without success to rouse them.  
>"Dad! Dean? Dean!"<br>Tessa sighed sadly. Something told her that this job was going to be more difficult than usual.

Ω

A half an hour later a rescue helicopter had arrived and Tessa watched as Sam, Dean and John were loaded into the air craft on stretchers. The latter were still unconscious and Sam was still trying without to success to wake them up.  
>The paramedic was leaning over Dean.<br>"Significant passenger side intrusion. BP is 180 over 60. Heart rate is 95."  
>"Just tell me if their ok!" Sam cried out from his stretcher much to the chagrin of the female paramedic who was trying to take his blood pressure.<br>"Sir, you need to keep still," she said. Tessa came and stood beside Sam, who wasn't paying the paramedic any attention.  
>"Are they even alive?" He asked to no one in particular.<br>_Aw screw it,_ Tessa thought, and she reached out and took Sam's hand. 

Ω

A while later, Tessa was standing in the hospital room, invisible. She watched Dean stir on the bed he was in, and then all of a sudden, he separated. He literally split into two versions of himself.

The Dean that got up off the bed was very similar to the one who stayed but, he was a little paler in color. He was still as good looking as ever, and his eyes had retained the smoldering emerald green that Tessa was sure had driven the ladies crazy. She sensed that Dean could never look bad no matter how hard he tried.  
>Thinking that made her smile, and then she frowned. Where the hell had that come from? She was a reaper, and a damn good one at that. Yet looking at Dean, the Dean that was lying there helpless, she couldn't help but feel a profound sadness that he wouldn't be able to live the life he deserved.<br>Sorrow was something a reaper did understand though. Tessa had been a human once after all, it may have been a long time ago, but she still remembered.  
>She took great pride in bringing humans peace. To her it was the highest form of job satisfaction, but looking at Dean, she almost wished she could break the rules...just this once.<br>She put out a mental foot and tripped that thought up. Where had all these human emotions come from?

But there wasn't time to pursue that question. The second Dean, the spirit Dean had gotten up off the bed and walked past her out of the room.  
>Still invisible, Tessa followed him into the hallway. Dean looked around.<br>"Dad? Sam? Anyone?" He called. He sounded incredibly lost. Tessa knew what would come next. Sooner or later he would discover that the form he was taking was not his natural one. And then he would panic. She wasn't looking forward to that.  
>Dean walked down the hallway and out into a small landing area. Slowly Tessa followed him. She didn't want to get too close. Spirits could sense the presence of a reaper, and she didn't want to reveal herself yet.<br>She followed Dean down the stairs and toward the nurse's desk. He walked up to it and started to talk to the nurse.  
>"Excuse me. Hi, I think I was in a car accident, my dad and my brother, I just need to find them."<br>The nurse didn't even look up from her computer. Dean snapped his fingers in her face.  
>"Hello?" The nurse was completely unresponsive. The look that came over dean's face was one of confusion, then concern and finally panic.<br>He turned and hurried back up the stairs to his room. Tessa followed, knowing what he would see and not sure if she wanted to see it. She was suddenly starting to feel a little reluctant about this job.

Dean hurried back into his room and screeched to a halt. Tessa came up behind him and she looked at his face. There was shock and disbelief written there. Dean was staring at his body lying in the bed, motionless. There was a breathing tube up his nose and he was covered in scratches and bruises. The room was as silent as death.

A small strangled sound came from Dean's throat and Tessa had to resist the urge to put her hand on his shoulder. She almost missed his next whisper.

"No…..that's not possible."

Ω

Still dizzy from panic and disbelief, Dean turned when he heard a sound behind him, and sighed with relief when Sam entered the room.

"Sammy, you look good. Considering." To no one surprise Sam didn't respond and Tessa looked at the younger Winchester with concern. He may have been physically fine, but he was a wreck emotionally. His boyish face looked haggard and there were dark circles under his eyes. His already unruly hair was even more messy than usual, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Oh no," Sam murmured, clearly dismayed at the sight of his brother's unconscious body. Dean walked around so he could face his baby brother.

"Man, tell me you can hear me," he said desperately. When Sam didn't reply, he rushed on.

"How's Dad? Is he okay? Come on you're the psychic. Give me some ghost whispering or something!"

Tessa felt a wry grin touch her face. Nobody but Dean Winchester could turn a bleak situation into something humorous.

The three of them looked up when a doctor entered the room. Sam looked at him expectantly.

"Your father's awake. You can go see him if you like," he said Dean felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Thank God," he sighed. Sam only looked half reassured though.

"Doc, what about my brother?"

The doctor walked over to Dean's IV machine and examined it closely for a few moments before answering.

"Well, he sustained serious injury: blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm concerned about, there's signs of cerebral edema."

"What can we do?" Sam asked. His voice broke on the last word, and Dean came to stand beside his younger brother, looking up at him in concern.

The doctor looked apologetic, "Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up…if he wakes up that is."

The blood drained from Sam's face. "If?"

The doctor rubbed his hands together looking more and more reluctant to deliver the news by the second.

"I have to be honest-" he began, but by this time Dean had had enough. He turned to the doctor irritation and stubborn determination on his face.

"Oh screw you doc, I'm waking up."

Tessa who was standing off to the side grimaced slightly when she heard the tone in his voice. Dean was not a soul that would come easily, that was for damn sure. The doctor was still talking though.

"Most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. He's fighting very hard," At those words a spark of hope blazed in Sam's eyes, but it died a second later when the doctor continued.

"But you need to have realistic expectations." Dean rolled his eyes and turned to his brother. As far as he was concerned, the words of the quack were no longer relevant.

"Come on Sam, go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. We did it before, we can damn well do it again."

"Thanks Doc," Sam replied quietly and the doctor left the room. Tessa watched as he took another long look at the figure of his brother lying in the bed before turning and walking out the door.

Ω

A little while later, the four of them, Sam John, Dean and Tessa were standing in John's hospital room. Dean took one look at his father and breathed a sigh of relief, because while the older hunter's arm was in a sling he hadn't sustained any other serious injuries.

The older Winchester reached into his wallet and pulled out a small card. He passed it to Sam before saying: "Here, give them my insurance."

Sam took it and Tessa saw his face split into a wry grin while reading it.

"Elroy McGillicutty?" He asked and Tessa almost smiled at the ridiculous name

"And his two loving sons," John finished smiling back at him. Then his expression went serious. "So what else did the doctor say about Dean?" Sam's shoulders sank and Tessa almost felt sorry for him.

"Nothing, look, if the doctors won't do anything then we have to. I don't know, I'll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him." John seemed to age a little with these words.

"We'll look for someone though," Was all he said. Sam nodded. John looked like he had something else he needed to say though.

"But Sam, I don't know if we're going to find anyone though." His youngest son looked at him, disbelief written all over his face.

"Why not? I found that faith healer before."

Tessa could see that he was convinced that he would do anything in the world to make sure his brother was alright.

"Alright, that was, that was one in a million."

"So what, we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?"

Before they could start an argument, Tessa walked out of the room and back to Dean's room. She heard John mention something about the Colt and supplies, but none of it interested her anymore. She pulled up a chair and sat down by his bed. After a minute, she reached out and took his hand.

That little mention of the faith healer was the reason that she was here.

A couple of months ago, while working a job, Dean had been electrocuted by a monster and had severely damaged his heart. The doctors had only given him a month to live and Sam had gone nuts trying to find some way to save him.

Apparently though, fate intervened because Sam had managed to find a faith healer, who had low and behold healed Dean's heart.

That was when the reapers knew that something was amiss. Later it had been revealed by the Winchester boys that the faith healer's wife had harnessed the power of a reaper and was using it to heal people. It had all started when her husband had been near death years earlier.

You can imagine just how big of an insult this had been to Tessa and the other reapers. You weren't supposed to cage death. Death after all was the natural order of things. The brothers had managed to free the reaper who returned to his duties, but after that her superiors had assigned Tessa the job of keeping an eye on the Winchester boys, Dean in particular to make sure they didn't cheat death again. Even before that she had been watching them for a long time and bringing peace to the souls that they couldn't save.

Although there was nothing in her job description about caring for one of them. Tessa looked up at Dean and then not really wanting to stay in the same room with his unconscious body, she got up. She had an appointment with someone else here anyway.

Ω

John Winchester was sitting by Dean's bed and the spirit Dean had followed him back into the room and was standing at the foot of the bed, eyes fixed on his father.

"Come on Dad. You've gotta help me. I've gotta get better. I've gotta get back in there. I mean you haven't even called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything?"

Dean felt his anger and hurt building with every word. He started to pace the room and then whirled back to his father, eyes blazing.

"I have done everything you've ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had. And you're just going to sit and there and you're going to watch me die?! I mean, what the hell kind of father are you?!"

Dean realized he was shouting and took a breath, trying to calm himself down. Suddenly he frowned. Someone was screaming.

"What's that?" he muttered to himself before going out into the hallway. All of a sudden something white and cold rushed passed him causing his teeth to chatter. He jumped back before turning to his father who was still sitting by the bed.

"I'm guessing you didn't see that," he said. To no one's surprise John didn't answer. He rolled his eyes before turning and chasing the spirit down the hallways.

It twisted and turned and Dean almost lost sight of it for a minute before it went around a corner and Dean saw a woman lying on the floor, choking.

"Help!" she cried out, but it came out sounding like nothing more than a strangled rasp. Dean knelt beside her in concern.

"Hey, I need some help here!" he called for getting for a moment that no one could hear him. The woman by this time was gasping for air loudly and that after a few more convulsions, she lay still.

Dean stared at her in shock trying to process everything that was happening. What the hell was going on?

Ω

Dean raced back into John's room to find that Sam had just entered carrying a bag which he threw on the floor.

"Sammy, tell me you can hear me man, there's something in the hospital! Now you've gotta bring me back so we can hunt this thing!" Sam however wasn't paying attention. His eyes were fixed on their father.

"You're quiet," John noted without even turning around. Sam snorted in disgust.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" John frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"That stuff from Bobby, you don't use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here aren't you? Maybe having some kind of stupid macho showdown?!" John's expression didn't even change as he looked at his youngest son.

"I have a plan Sam."

That's my point! Dean is dying and you have a plan. You know what, you care more about killing this demon then you do your own son!" His voice broke on the last word and Dean couldn't take it any longer.

"No, no guys, don't do this not here!" But as usual no one was paying attention. John's face had gone livid.

"Do not tell me how I feel. I am doing this for Dean!" Sam laughed bitterly

"How? How is revenge going to help him? You're not doing this for anyone but yourself. It's the same selfish obsession!"

Dean, feeling very torn looked back and forth between his father and brother. "Come on guys, don't do this!" he pleaded.

"You know, it's funny," John was saying, "I thought this was your obsession too. This demon killed your mother and your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of this hunt. Now if you'd killed that damn thing when you had a chance, none of this would have happened!" Sam's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"It was possessing you Dad, I would've killed you too!"

"Yeah and your brother would be alive right now!"

"Would the both of you shut up?" Dean shouted getting more and more irritated by the second.

"Go to hell," Sam hissed furiously and Dean flinched. John's eyes narrowed.

"I should never have taken you along in the first place, I knew it was a mistake, I knew it was wrong-"

I said shut up!" Dean roared, and he smacked a glass of water that was sitting on the table onto the floor shattering the glass and casting water everywhere.

That got their attention. Sam and John stared at the mess in shock. Even Dean felt stunned.

"Dude, I full on Swayze'd that mother."

All of a sudden, he doubled up in pain, and his spirit flickered slightly. At the same time Sam looked up to see doctors and nurses running down the hall.

"Something's going on out there," John said and gestured to Sam to go find out. Sam turned and raced out the door.

Ω

Tessa, still invisible, saw Sam hurry into Dean's room. She frowned, something wasn't right. Catching up with them, she turned into Dean's room and saw with horror another reaper floating over Dean's bed.

She recognized Elias right away, and swore under her breath as the lights and monitors flashed, while the doctors tried to resuscitate Dean.

"That son of a bitch!" she snarled. "I told him, I would handle this!"

"All clear," the doctors called.

Tessa saw Sam huddled in the doorway, tears pooling in his eyes as they tried to revive his brother. "No," was all he could say and she felt her heart go out to him.

"There's still no pulse," one of the nurses said.

"Ok, let's go again, 360."

Sam had started to fidget and the tears started to fall.

"You get the hell away from me!" At the sound of Dean's deep voice, Tessa turned around. A wry smile came to her face when she saw Dean race into the room and hurl himself at the reaper.

"I said get back!" To Tessa's surprise, he reached out and grabbed ahold of it. It lasted a moment before Elias realized what was happening, and he hurled Dean back before soaring out of the room.

As he passed, Tessa heard his voice in her ear. _"We need to talk," _it said softly. She barely paid attention though as the situation in the room calmed.

"We have a pulse," one of the nurses said. "We're back into sinus rhythm."

Spirit Dean had raced back into the hall trying to find the reaper. But it was gone.

Tessa leaned back against the opposite wall and watched as Sam sighed in relief. Dean came back to stand beside him.

"Don't worry Sammy, I'm not going anywhere. I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it."

Tessa admired his spunk. But it wouldn't last for long, she thought sadly.

It was time to change tactics. But first, something else needed to be taken care, or rather someone.

Ω

Tessa stormed down the hallway. She rounded a corner and came out into the atrium of the hospital. She scanned the area and saw a tall man standing with his back to her looking out the window. He had short close cropped pale blonde hair and he was dressed all in black. She didn't know what the mortals were seeing but that really didn't matter.  
>"Elias," she hissed, voice low with threat. Tessa was a mild mannered reaper but the one thing that pissed her off to no end was when someone else got involved in one of her jobs.<br>At the sound of his name, the reaper turned and smiled at her. He had pale ice blue eyes and a sharp angular face. It was cold and calculated but also full of arrogance.  
>"Tessa," he said smiling at her.<br>"Don't give me any of that diplomacy bull," she fairly snarled as she strode up to him. "What the hell are you doing here?"  
>Elias spread his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Calm down Tessa, I didn't come here to fight. Morgan sent me to make sure that you were taking care of things."<br>"I am," Tessa growled. Elias raised an eyebrow.  
>"Really? Because from where I stand, you haven't even started. This was a simple job Tessa. Come in and transport Dean Winchester's soul to the other side. So why is he still hanging around the hospital causing trouble?"<br>Tessa was enraged. Was he implying that she didn't know how to do her job? She didn't say that though. It wouldn't do to get on Elias's bad side.  
>"I'm working on it," was all she could manage. Elias turned away from the window.<br>"Dean Winchester has escaped death once Tessa. He cannot do so again. Do you know the humiliation we may suffer at allowing another mortal to escape?"  
>"I am aware of the stakes, Elias," Tessa seethed. The male reaper spread his hands.<br>"Look, maybe this job has hit a little too close to home for you, if you want we can send you somewhere else and another reaper will take care of Dean."  
>Tessa tried to swallow her anger at being pulled off a job.<br>"No, I can take care of it," she murmured. Elias nodded.  
>"I hope so, because Morgan has given you a deadline."<br>"What?" Tessa asked incredulously  
>"You heard me," Elias continued. "Morgan wants this sewn up as soon as possible. Either you get Dean to the other side by tomorrow night, or we will send someone who can."<br>With that he, had vanished into thin air.  
>Tessa sighed. Son of a bitch. Now what was she going to do? She felt incensed that Elias was checking up on her. On the other hand, she felt sad that she was going to have to do something that she increasingly didn't want to do.<br>But first, how the hell was she going to get Dean to the other side? The direct approach obviously wouldn't work, Elias had made damn sure of that.  
>Suddenly she had an idea. She glanced down at herself. But these clothes obviously wouldn't do.<br>Within seconds, she was in the hospital attire of blue pants and a white shirt. Then she took a deep breath. _Here's goes nothing,_ she thought.

Ω

Dean was wandering through the halls trying to keep an eye out for the spirit, when he heard someone yelling.  
>"Can't you see me? Why won't you look at me?" His head snapped up and he hurried toward the sound of the voice.<br>"Now what?" He muttered to himself.  
>He came out into the atrium where the main staircase was. Doctors and nurses were going up and down the stairs carrying clipboards.<br>"Somebody talk to me. Say something please!" The voice was desperate and Dean zeroed in on the young woman who was speaking.  
>She was a little shorter than Dean and had jet black hair that just brushed the edges of her shoulders, and eyes as green as Dean's. She was really very pretty.<br>He hurried to base of the stairs and called up to her.  
>"Can you see me?"<br>The girl turned and looked at him, still seemingly in the throes of shock.  
>"Yeah," she replied. Dean took the stairs two at a time until he was standing in front of her. She was even prettier up close. He blinked and got back to business.<br>"Alright, uh, just calm down. What's your name?"  
>"Tessa," she replied, still looking uneasy.<br>"Okay, good, Tessa, I'm Dean." Introductions were easy. Now what the hell were they supposed to do?  
>"What's happening to me? Am...am I dead?" Tessa asked voice trembling slightly. Before he could stop himself, Dean reached out and took her hand.<br>"That sort of depends," he said slowly. Tessa frowned at him. "On what?" she asked. Dean paused before answering.

"Let's take a walk," he said.

Ω

A few minutes later, Dean and Tessa were standing outside a room looking in. In the bed lay Tessa's body. There was an IV tapped to her arm, and a breathing tube up her nose. A woman was sitting beside the bed holding her hand.  
>"I don't understand," Tessa said turning to Dean after she looked inside. "I just came in for an appendectomy." Dean grimaced.<br>"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think there were some complications."  
>Tessa turned and walked past him away from the doorway. "It's just a dream, that's all. A very weird unbelievably vivid dream." She was trying to process all this information and Dean felt for her. This was a seriously ugly ass mess.<br>"Tessa, it's not a dream," he said almost apologetically.  
>"Then what else could it be?" She said turning back to him.<br>"You ever heard of an out of body experience?" Tessa frowned. "What are you some kind of new agey guy?" Dean almost laughed...almost laughed.  
>"Do you see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It's actually a very old idea. Got a lot of different names. Bilocation, crisis, apparition, fetches...I think it's happening to us. And if it is, that means we're there spirits of people close to death."<br>"So we're going to die?" Tessa asked. Dean shook his head vigorously.  
>"No, not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better. We can snap back in there and wake up."<br>For a while after that, there seemed to be nothing else to say. Tessa and Dean wandered down the halls talking quietly about their lives before the hospital. Dean liked her. She had a lot of spunk and from the way she talked she would have made a pretty badass hunter. Not to mention she was easy on the eyes.  
>"I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed," he said finally.<br>"With what?" She asked.  
>"With you, most people in your spot would be jello right now. But you're taking this really well. Maybe better than me," he admitted. Tessa shrugged.<br>"Don't get me wrong, I was pretty freaked at first. But now...I don't know, maybe I'm dealing." Dean looked at her skeptically.  
>"So you're okay with dying?"<br>"No, not at all, but I just think, what's gonna happen is what's gonna happen. It's fate."  
>Dean snorted. "That's crap, there's always a choice. You can either roll over and die, or you can keep fighting no matter what."<br>All of a sudden, the intercom system crackled: "room 237, code blue. Dr. Kripke to room 237 code blue."  
>Dean immediately took off running down the hall. "Where are you going?" Tessa called after him.<br>"Just wait there!" He yelled over his shoulder.  
>Dean turned the corner and skidded to a halt in front of room 237. To his horror, he saw the same spirit hovering over a little girl, it reached a hand toward her face.<br>"Get away from her!" Dean hollered and lunged toward the spirit, but at the last minute it vanished. Immediately the nurses stopped what they were doing.  
>"Alright everyone, let's call it," the doctor said. "Time of death, five eleven pm."<br>"At least she's not suffering anymore," one of the nurses said quietly.  
>All medical personnel turned and left the room, leaving Dean standing there in shock.<p>

Ω

Later that night, Sam walked into Dean's room holding a brown paper bag in his arms. He looked even worse than usual. Dean's close call with death earlier that day had really shook him up, and the voice he heard after that sounded a lot like Deans had put a whole new twist on things.  
>"Hey um, I think you're around and if you are, then, don't make fun of me ok, but I have a way we can talk."<br>He reached inside the bag and pulled out a box with the words: "Mystical Talking Board printed on the front.  
>Dean who had been standing beside his brother took one look at the box gave a snort of disbelief.<br>"Oh you gotta be kidding me," he said. As always, Sam didn't reply. Instead, he walked to the end of the bed and sat down, crossing his legs. He pulled out the board and set it up. Then he cleared his throat as if about to make a speech.

"Dean, Dean are you there?"

Dean by this time, had crossed to the opposite side of his brother and was looking at the board with a "do I really have to do this?" expression on his face.

"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party," he admitted before sitting down across from Sam.

Sam kept his eyes closed on the pointer and Dean slowly moved it across the board to "yes."

Sam opened his eyes and gasped. Dean looked up at him. "Well, I'll be damned," he said.

Sam let out a breathless laugh of relief. "It's good to hear from you man, it hasn't been the same without you Dean." Dean grinned at his baby brother. "Damn straight," he replied, even though he knew Sam couldn't hear him.

He then proceeded to tell Sam painstakingly slowly that he thought there was a reaper in the hospital, but that it was taking people when it was there time to go.

Sam paused at that one. "If it's here naturally, then there's no way to stop it." Dean nodded.

"Yeah, you can't kill death." Upon realizing this he looked up at his brother.

"Sammy, I'm screwed."

Ω

Later that evening in a different part of the hospital, Tessa sat alone, waiting. She had laid the bait, now all she had to do was see if Dean was as smart as he seemed.

Thinking about this particular mortal made her incredibly sad. He didn't deserve the life he had been dished out.

But he did deserve peace. Tessa would ensure that he got it.

There was no way she was going to be pulled off this job now. Elias was right. It had hit a little too close to home for her. But when she committed to something, she saw it through.

Every.

Damn.

Time.

Ever since she had been assigned the job of keeping an eye on the Winchesters, Tessa had felt an odd connection to Dean. He obviously carried a heavy burden on his shoulders. One that really wasn't his responsibility. It must have been a terrible burden to shoulder alone. But soon, he would be free from it.

Tessa mused about what she had said to Morgan earlier. After her conversation with Dean, she had gone to a quiet part of the hospital and summoned her boss. It hadn't gone like she wanted it to.

_"__You know the rules Tessa. Dean Winchester's soul is beyond the realm of mortals now. He is in his own personal limbo. He's not going to wake up. You know it and so does he. The only thing left for him to do is let go."_

_His logic had been flawless and she knew it, but still, she resisted having no idea why._

_ "__Couldn't we make an exception, just this once?" she asked._

_Morgan raised his eyebrows at her, and she flinched, hating the vulnerability in her tone. _

_ "__Do you care for this mortal Tessa?"_

_She had avoided his gaze, afraid of what she would see._

_Morgan sighed. "It is natural to become too close to these humans, perhaps you have been among them for too long though. I think I should send someone to replace you."_

_Tessa looked up in panic._

_ "__No…..no please, I'll…..I'll finish the job," she murmured hating herself, but knowing she was doing the right thing. _

_ "__Good, see to it then."_

Tessa folded her hands in her lap. So that was it then. Dean would say goodbye. She wasn't looking forward to the coming conversation. But it was necessary.

The door opened and she rearranged her features as Dean stepped through the door. He didn't look angry per se, but he looked almost….betrayed.

"Hi Dean," she said softly.

Dean gave a harsh laugh and rubbed his chin with his left hand.

"You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure as hell didn't. Basically they can make themselves appear however they want. Like say, uh, a pretty girl. And you are way prettier than the last reaper I met."

Tessa looked down at her lap, "I was wondering when you would figure it out," she said softly.

Dean shook his head at his own stupidity. "I should've known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid back for a dead chick. But the mother and the body, I'm still trying to figure that one out."

Tessa shrugged trying to keep from hearing how wounded he sounded. "It's my sandbox, I can make you see whatever I want."

"What, is this like a turn on for you? Toying with me?" Dean asked, sounding more edgy by the second.

"You didn't give me much choice," Tessa said gently, "You saw my true form and you flipped out. Kind of hurts a girl's feelings. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me."

Dean stopped pacing and faced her.

"Okay, fine, we're talking. What the hell do you want to talk about?"

Tessa got up off the bed and walked over to him. Before he could react, she reached down and took his hand like he had done with her earlier.

"Why don't we take a walk and I'll explain it to you," she said softly.

Ω

As far as bizarre experiences went, this one was up there with time travel and mutant aliens cloning humans, Dean thought.

It had been one hell of a week, and now he was walking down a hospital hallway as a spirit, holding hands with a reaper of all things.

Granted this wasn't any normal reaper. This was probably the prettiest nicest reaper he had ever seen. But still.

"Death is nothing to fear Dean," Tessa said. She stopped and gently touched his cheek. "It's your time to go, and you're living on borrowed time already."

She took her hand away and they continued walking, but a small part of Dean had wished she had stayed that way for a little longer. Her touch was freezing cold. But in it, there was a sweet release, which promised peace from all the burdens he was carrying. Maybe she was right.

He shook, his head. Where had that come from? It wasn't like Dean Winchester to give up. Hell he had escaped a lot worse situations that this with the skin still on his ass.

But this time felt different for some reason.

He was tired, tired of running, tired of fighting. Tired of patching himself up after a fight. Tired of listening to his dad and Sam argue. Tired of working so hard to keep his family safe and together when in reality, the exact opposite of his intentions always happened.

He glanced at the beautiful reaper holding his hand.

Maybe letting go wouldn't be so bad after all.

But what would happen to Sam?

Tessa sensed his turmoil and she felt sad that she was the cause of it. But Morgan had been right. Dean didn't belong here anymore. He deserved to be happy, and staying here wasn't going to achieve that.

"What are you thinking?" she asked gently as the two of them wandered down the hall. Dean was silent for a long moment.

The truth was, he didn't know what to think. The option of going with Tessa had started to sound kind of appealing. But going somewhere he didn't know without his family? That was scary.

"Can you guarantee me that my dad and Sam will be alright without me?" He asked looking Tessa in the eye.

The beautiful reaper shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, telling the future isn't in my job description," she said gently.

Dean shook his head. "Then I'm sorry, I can't go with you. You've gotta cut me a break. Look I'm sure you've heard this a million times before but…you've gotta make an exception."

"Stage three…..bargaining," Tessa quipped softly.

Dean hadn't let go of her hand. For some strange reason, he didn't want to. In a way, it was like he had one foot in and one foot out. By this time they had reached the waiting room of the hospital. There were some comfortable looking sofas in front of the windows on the second floor that offered an awesome glimpse of the night sky outside where the moon was shining brightly.

Tessa and Dean sat down on one of them. She looked out the window, but Dean focused on her. He had to make her understand.

"I'm serious. My family is in danger, we're kind of in the middle of this um, war and they need me."

Tessa turned away from the window and touched his cheek again. "The fight's over Dean. At least for you it is. You're not the first soldier I've plucked from the field, and you certainly won't be the last. They all feel the same. They can't leave. Victory hangs in the balance. But they're wrong. The battle goes on without them."

"My brother could die without me," Dean whispered brokenly. Tessa hated the despair in his voice.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. But there is nothing you can do about it. You're a soldier Dean, and you will die an honorable death."

Dean snorted. "I think I'll pass on the seventy two virgins. I'm not much into prude chicks anyway."

Tessa laughed softly and Dean almost smiled. He liked that sound. He wouldn't mind hearing it again. _Get your head together Winchester!_ He thought.

"That's funny, you're very cute," Tessa said smiling at him. Dean tried to get his thoughts back on point so he wouldn't have to focus on her smile and how it made him want to smile.

"There's no such thing as an honorable death. My corpse is going to rot in the ground and my family is going to die." He looked her in the eyes, even though it was a little difficult.

"I'm sorry Tessa, I can't go with you." The reaper nodded.

"Well, like you said, there's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body, that's just a fact. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent." Dean frowned at her, not liking where she was going with this.

"What are you saying?" he asked. Tessa looked at him sadly.

"Dean how do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go and they can't move on. You're about to become one. You will be the same thing that you hunt."

Ω

Back in Dean's room, Sam was standing by his brother's bed. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his voice was thick with despair when he spoke.

"I couldn't find anything in the book, but I promise you Dean, I'll keep trying, as long as you keep fighting."

His voice broke on the last word and he had to pinch the skin between his eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"I mean, you can't, you can't leave me here alone with Dad, we'll kill each other, and you know that."

Sam, suddenly feeling weak in the knees sat down in the chair by the bed and took his brother's limp hand his.

"Dean you gotta hold on. You can't go man, not now. We were just starting to be brothers again."

His voice cracked on the last words and Sam pressed Dean's hand to his forehead letting all of the pent up tears from the past few days loose.

Ω

Tessa stroked Dean's hair tenderly. He looked so conflicted it made her heart heavy. This wasn't just about her job anymore, and she knew it.

"It's time to put the pain behind you," she murmured.

"And go where?" Dean asked. He sounded so lost. Tessa smiled sorrowfully. "Sorry, I can't give away the big punchline. But either way, if you stay or go, you aren't going to get up out of that hospital bed." He turned to look at her.

"Moment of truth, no changing your mind later. So what's it going to be Dean?"

Emotions of every color and strength passed across Dean's face. He didn't want to leave, he was scared to. But if what Tessa said was true, then he would become exactly what he hunted and that was a fate that would be far worse then what might happen if he went with Tessa. And she was right, he was tired. There had been a hole in his gut since he had had the encounter with the first reaper months ago. Like something wasn't right, like his returning to full health was…..unnatural.

"What about Sam?" he whispered turning to face her. She smiled gently.

"I can't tell you what's going to happen to him. But I can promise you something though." Dean looked up hopefully.

"What's that?"

"If something does happen to him, I will go and find him and bring him to you. So you see you're not really saying goodbye Dean. You're just saying, see you later."

Dean thought about that for a moment. She was right, he would see Sammy again. And this time, there would be nothing to threaten the two of them. He closed his eyes readying himself.

"Alright, I'll go with you."

The smile that graced Tessa's face was pure sunshine brighter than the early morning sun that was coming through the windows, and Dean couldn't help himself, he smiled back. The reaper got up off the couch and offered him her hand. Before taking it though, Dean looked up at her.

"Before I go, can I see Sam and Dad one more time? I just want to say goodbye." Tessa nodded. "Of course."

Dean took her hand, and together the two of them slowly began to walk down the hall to his room.

Ω

Sam and John were sitting in the chairs by the side of the bed. Sam looked even worse than he had the night before. Anyone could tell that he had gotten no sleep. The doctor was standing at the edge of the bed. It was obvious that he had just delivered some bad news, because Sam shot to his feet.

"No, that's not possible, he was just starting to get better," he cried out.

Dean winced when he saw his brother's distraught face. This was going to be hell for him. Tessa squeezed his hand gently and instantly he felt reassured.

John leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, he is exhibiting no brain activity and he isn't even breathing on his own. The ventilator is the only thing that's keeping him alive. It's up to you what you want to do from here on out. But no matter how alive the machines might make him seem, Dean's gone. I'll give you a few minutes to decide what to do."

He turned and left the room. Sam slumped back into the chair and buried his face in his hands mirroring his father, shoulders shaking.

"You can't leave me Dean," his brother heard him whisper. "We were just starting to be a family again." He lifted his tearstained face to look at his brother. John Winchester slowly got to his feet and shuffled across the room to his youngest son's chair. He put his hands on Sam's shoulders, and Dean's younger brother reached up and grasped his father's hands for dear life.

"We still are," he said in his gravelly voice made even rougher by emotions. "But we need to think about Dean, he wouldn't want to live like this."

All Sam could do was nod. John helped his youngest to his feet, placed his hands on his shoulders and looked him squarely in the eyes.

"I've been thinking Sam, I've had enough of the hunter life, and so have you. I want you to go back to school. To live the life you were supposed to have and the one that I never let you live."

Sam wiped the tears from his eyes, disbelief coloring them a shade lighter.

"Really?" he asked. John nodded.

"I took, your childhood from you and Dean. I was so obsessed with revenge that I couldn't see what it was doing to you boys. Sam I'm so sorry."

On the last word, his face crumpled, and Sam pulled his father into a tight hug, both of them weeping softly.

But these weren't tears of despair. They signaled the start of something new, a change, and standing there, watching them with his own eyes leaking, Dean knew that they would be alright.

When Sam and John called the doctor in to unplug the machines, Dean stopped by his father and whispered into his ear: "I love you Dad." He then turned and walked to the other side of the bed where Sam was sitting. He put his hand on Sam's shoulder.

"I love you little brother, you and Dad take care of each other. I'll see you later."

Even as he said the words, Sam heard a faint whisper and he looked up at his dad who was staring at him.

"Did you hear that?" he asked. John Winchester nodded. He was still crying, but a tiny smile had come over his face.

As the doctor unplugged the last machine, a sigh seemed to pass through Dean's body and out into the hallway.

All of a sudden, Dean felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The hole in his gut from the past few months vanished.

He turned to Tessa and smiled a real genuine smile. "I'm ready now," he said to her. She returned it, and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. He took her hand and the two of them walked out of the room and down the hallway.

"Will you keep an eye on them?" Dean asked as they walked. Tessa smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"Of course."

Dean smiled again, finally starting to feel at peace.

Hand in hand, he and Tessa exited the building and walked out into the sunshine. She had been right. The fight was over for him. But it was also the end of the fight for Sam and John as well.

They would be okay. The glue he had left on them would stick for good.


End file.
